I thank Ambassador Ildefonso Castro for coming to the Seanad and for his service to Ireland; I wish him continued success.

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the report of the Commission of Investigation (IBRC) on the transaction in relation to Siteserv, to be taken at 2 p.m., to conclude at 2.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, all Senators not to exceed seven minutes, on which time may be shared, and the Minister is to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 114 (4), Private Members' business, motion on breast-feeding, to be taken at 4 p.m. with the time allocated to the debate not to exceed two hours; and No. 2, Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020 – Committee Stage (Resumed), to be taken at 6 p.m. or on conclusion of No. 114 (4), whichever is the later, and to adjourn at 8 p.m. if not previously concluded.

I join the Cathaoirleach and the Leader in extending a céad míle fáilte to the ambassador. He has now left the Chamber but we were delighted to have him in the Seanad.

When we returned to the Chamber yesterday after the weekend, we spoke about the sadness of all that happened in Creeslough. All of a sudden last night, a lady named Amber Barrett lit a light. Anyone who knows Donegal and the region from Kerrykeel, Portsalon and Milford to Creeslough will know that what happened on Friday affected not only all Donegal people but also Amber Barrett. It was remarkable and wonderful to see her go down on her two knees, grab her armband and kiss it, and dedicate that wonderful goal, which means the Irish ladies football team will go to the World Cup, to those ten people. At an extraordinary time of depressing and sad news this week, I do not know about the Cathaoirleach or the rest of the Senators but I find it very hard to be joyous. It was such a terrible occurrence that it is hard to go about one's business in the usual way, yet last night, Amber Barrett lit that light. It was like a night-light appearing out of the dark. In some way, it must be great news for Donegal, despite all the trauma and tragedy. We heard her refer to her grandparents who come from Creeslough and live in the area. She is an extraordinary young woman. Along with everybody, I extend my sincere congratulations to the Irish football team and Vera Pauw, an extraordinary woman. I am sure the Government will put adequate funding in place to help them with their World Cup trip. It will be great to see the Tricolour there. There is something special about the team, the management and the players. They all seem so united and happy as a group and it is a wonderful thing to watch. I would not miss any of their matches on TV and I hope to go in person to some of them shortly. It was a fantastic night.

I raise a new programme by Agri Aware that we should promote. The initiative, Farming Through the Seasons, enables Irish schoolchildren to learn all about what happens on Irish farms from farmers themselves. Agri Aware launched this plan to provide virtual farm visits for all schools. I understand there is a large take-up at present and I urge all schools to get involved. I know the Leader agreed with me on my next point some months ago. We should all realise how important agriculture still is to the economy. It is worth €14.5 billion in exports and employs several hundred thousand people on farms and in agribusiness. It is a major contributor to our economy. Sometimes we do not realise the great product we have that is recognised throughout the world - Irish food. Even in terms of where crops come from, as some people do not know, this initiative will be a wonderful experience.

I urge all schools to become involved in it. It is a wonderful thing to do. We will help to promote it in any way we can. I am certainly doing my bit for it today.

I also welcome the Spanish ambassador to the Chamber. I join the Senators who yesterday paid tribute to the families, friends and neighbours of the people of Creeslough following the tragic loss of ten human lives. I extend the sympathies and condolences of the House to them on their tragic loss. What happened was unbelievable.

I raise an issue in regard to some organisations that are anti-drink. They express reservations about Drinkaware, arguing that the organisation should have no influence on the promotion of education for people in regard to anti-drinking because it is funded by the drinks companies. Some of the organisations in question are funded by the taxpayer and taxes are collected from drink and cigarettes. This is a case of double standards. Any organisation that can help to prevent excessive drinking and the abuse of drink and drugs is to be welcomed. I welcome anything that Drinkaware does in promoting an anti-drinking and anti-drugs message. It is a bit rich of organisations to complain about those who are doing great work because they are funded by drinks companies when the organisations in question are themselves funded by the taxpayer and money collected from taxes paid through drink and cigarettes.

I have a question. I want to move a motion and I wonder if I need a seconder.

Yes. The motion can be seconded later.

I propose to move No. 114, motion 3. This is a motion related to the matter of the current pay claim sought under the scheme for Senators’ secretarial assistance to make a recommendation to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that Seanad secretarial assistants be permanently regraded to the role and remuneration of parliamentary assistants. I hope I will have a seconder later.

The Senator has moved an amendment, that No. 114, motion 3, be taken without debate on the conclusion of the Order of Business.

I second that.

Senator Clonan will have to be here for the conclusion of the Order of Business.